New Bishop for Tajikistan Consecrated in Diveyevo

This past Wednesday, the commemoration of the discovery of the relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov, Patriarch Cyril (Gundyayev) of Moscow led the services in honor of the feast at the renowned Diveyevo Monastery of the Holy Trinity in central Russia. During the festal Divine Liturgy the patriarch, Metropolitan Vincent (Morar') of Tashkent and Central Asia, and twenty-two other hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church consecrated Archimandrite Pitirim (Tvorogov) as Bishop of Dushanbe. Axios! The newly consecrated Bishop Pitirim will be shepherding the Orthodox Church in Tajikistan, whose faithful belong to the Metropolitanate of Tashkent and Central Asia. More in Russian here.

New Bishop of Bishkek Arrives in Kyrgyzstan

The recently consecrated Bishop Feodosiy (Gazhu) of Bishkek and Kyrgyzstan has been presented in his new diocese, which has jurisdiction over the whole of the Orthodox Church in Kyrgyzstan. Bishop Feodosiy arrived in Kyrgyzstan after first spending time with Metropolitan Vikentiy (Morar) of Tashkent in Uzbekistan. More (in Russian) here.

Uzbekistani Government Reschedules Russian Orthodox Patriarch's Visit, Blocks Metropolitanate's Registration

The government of Uzbekistan has apparently rescheduled a pastoral visit to Uzbekistan by Patriarch Kirill (Gundyayev) of Moscow, originally organized to coincide with the 140th anniversary of the founding of the Eparchy of Tashkent, due to the Russian Orthodox Church's unilateral reorganization of the Orthodox Church in Uzbekistan and its appointment of a new Metropolitan of Tashkent without first consulting Tashkent. Patriarch Kirill will still visit the Central Asian republic, but not at the beginning of the month as originally planned. Meanwhile the official registration of the newly established Metropolitanate of Tashkent and Central Asia continues to be blocked by the Uzbekistani authorities. More here.

Russian Orthodox Holy Synod Meets in Kiev to Create Dioceses, Elect Bishops

Following the arrival of Patriarch Kirill (Gundyayev) of Moscow yesterday in Kiev a session of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church was convened at the Kiev Caves Lavra under his chairmanship. Participating in the meeting were Metropolitans Volodymyr (Sabodan) of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Vladimir (Kotlyarov) of St. Petersburg, Philaret (Vakhromeyev) of the Belorussian Orthodox Church, Yuvenaliy (Poyarkov) of Krutitsa, Vladimir (Canterean) of the Moldovan Orthodox Church, Hilarion (Alfeyev) of Volokolamsk, Ioannikiy (Kobzyev) of Luhansk, and Varsonofiy (Sudakov) of Saransk; Archbishops Feofan (Galinskiy) of Berlin, Manuil (Pavlov) of Petrozavodsk, Iona (Karpukhin) of Astrakhan, and Rostislav (Dyevyatov) of Tomsk.

During its session the Holy Synod reviewed the recent pastoral travels of Patriarch Kirill as well as the decisions of the Jubilee Council of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. It also established a metropolitanate for the Orthodox Church in Central Asia, uniting within its care the existing Eparchy of Tashkent, the newly erected Eparchies of Bishkek and Dushanbe erected during the same session, and the patriarchal deanery of Turkmenistan. Archbishop Vikentiy (Morar') of Yekaterinburg was then elected Metropolitan of Tashkent and Central Asia.

New dioceses were established in the Russian Far East, the Urals, and southern Russia. In Primorye the Eparchies of Nakhodka and Arsen'ev were created out of the Eparchy of Vladivostok, with Igumen Nikolai (Dutki) being elected Bishop of Nakhodka. (Archbishop Venyamin of Vladivostok was designated locum tenens of the Eparchy of Arsen'ev for the time being.) In the Urals the Eparchies of Kamensk and Nizhniy Tagil were erected on the territory of the Eparchy of Yekaterinburg, with Archimandrite Innokentiy (Yakovlev) and Igumen Serafim (Kuzminov) being elected as Bishops of Nizhniy Tagil and Kamensk respectively. And lastly, in southern Russia the Eparchies of Shakhty and Volgodonsk were created out of the Eparchy of Rostov-na-Donu, with Archimandrite Korniliy (Sinnyayev) and Igumen Ignatiy (Deputatov) being elected Bishops of Volgodonsk and Shakhty respectively.

The Holy Synod also accepted the retirement of Metropolitan Feodosiy of Omsk and elected Metropolitan Vladimir (Ichim) of Tashkent as Metropolitan of Omsk, Archbishop Cyril of Yaroslavl as Archbishop of Yekaterinburg, Archbishop Panteleimon of Rostov as Archbishop of Yaroslavl, and patriarchal auxiliary Bishop Mercurius of Zaraisk as Bishop of Rostov. Responding to requests from Metropolitan Sergey of Voronezh and Archbishops Viktor of Tver and Nikon of Uga, the Holy Synod elected Archimandrites Andrei (Tarasov), Adrian (Ulyanov) and Nikolai (Subbotin) as Bishops of Ostrog, Bezhetsk, and Birsk to serve as auxiliaries of the Eparchies of Voronezh, Tver, and Ufa respectively.

More (in Russian) on the Holy Synod's meeting today and the decisions it took can be found here and here.